Security forces patrol a street in New Delhi after the February riots. (Reuters)
The charge sheet does not mention the names of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam as defendants. Since they were arrested a few days ago, their names will be on the supplemental charge sheet.
- News18.com New Delhi
- Last update: September 16, 2020 11:20 PM IST
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The Delhi Police special cell on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against 15 defendants in a Delhi riot case under various sections of the Illicit Activity (Prevention) Act, the Weapons Act and the Penal Code of India (CPI). The charge sheet filed in the Karkardooma Court is over 10,000 pages long.
The charge sheet, filed with Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat, names Tahir Hussain, Devangana Kalita, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Natasha Narwal, Mohammed Pervez Ahmad, Mohammed Ilyas, Saifi Khalid, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haidar, Safoora Zargar, Shahdab Ahamd, Talsee Salim Malik, Mohammed Salim Khan, and Athar Khan. It does not mention Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam as defendants. Since they were arrested a few days ago, their names will be on the supplemental charge sheet.
Community violence had erupted in northeast Delhi on February 24 after supporters of the citizenship law and protesters clashed with each other in the area, leaving 53 people dead.
Following the violence, the body of Intelligence Office staff member Ankit Sharma (26) was found in a drain in Chand Bagh, where he lived. The police had arrested Hussain in the case.
The police charge sheet, including its attachment, is 17,500 pages long. The police have included 747 witnesses on the charge sheet and it is based on technical evidence, WhatsApp chats and call data records (CDR). The supplemental charge sheet will be submitted later as the investigation progresses further.
Police have mentioned the February 24 WhatsApp chats as evidence on the charge sheet. “That was the time when the riots were happening. At that time, the key conspirators were guiding their infantrymen on the violence in the area. They were in direct contact with the infantrymen,” they said.
Police added that the conspirators used a WhatsApp group, now closed, to instigate violence in the Seelampur and Jafrabad area. Twenty-five WhatsApp groups were specially created for each site. They gave the impression that they were an anti-CAA protest group, but through these appointments the conspirators were being guided, police said.
Deputy Police Commissioner (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwaha had previously said that the riots were the result of a “planned conspiracy” because during the investigation the police found a common pattern followed by anti-CAA protesters: that of blocking traffic vial.
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